


Warmth in Your Chest

by Winner_of_the_disability_bingo



Series: Soulmate September 2020 [8]
Category: How to Train Your Dragon (Movies)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Soulmates, Gen, Not Beta Read, Platonic Soulmates, Soulmates, nothing i ever write is beta read
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-08
Updated: 2020-09-08
Packaged: 2021-03-07 08:08:19
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,069
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26349856
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Winner_of_the_disability_bingo/pseuds/Winner_of_the_disability_bingo
Summary: Soulmate September Day 8 - The temperature of your chest changes depending on your proximity to your soulmateHiccup's chest was cold. It had always been that way.
Relationships: Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III & Toothless
Series: Soulmate September 2020 [8]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1904476
Comments: 8
Kudos: 189





	Warmth in Your Chest

**Author's Note:**

> I bet no-one's done THIS before

The centre of Hiccup’s chest was cold. It had been cold for as long as he could remember. It was the kind of cold that spread to the rest of his body. The kind that made him more likely to fall ill than the others in the village. The kind that numbed his body and mind.

When he was young, after he had complained of pain and cold in his chest even during Summer, Stoick took him to Gothi to find out what was wrong. She had told them that he had a soulmate. The temperature of his chest depended on how close he was to his soulmate. The colder his chest, the farther away his soulmate was.

His soulmate definitely wasn’t in the village.

Soulmates were things of legends. If you had a soulmate, that meant you were chosen by the Gods to do great things (or just one great thing before dying heroically so your soulmate could swear revenge). The only records they had of soulmates had been of kings and spirits. Of great people that Hiccup could never even hope to live up to.

Usually, soulmates were born in times of war and the two parties would end the conflict. Stoick believed that Hiccup and his soulmate would be the ones to stop the war between Vikings and Dragons. That they would either kill all dragons or drive them out.

His father had been so excited that when he turned ten, Stoick took him on a trip across the archipelago. Hiccup’s chest didn’t get any warmer. It actually got colder the farther away from Berk they went. They returned home when Hiccup’s chest was so cold he couldn’t breathe.

The village didn’t know he had a soulmate. Only his dad, Gobber, and Gothi knew about it. They’d probably treat him better if they knew, but Hiccup liked the privacy and lack of expectations.

When he was old enough, Stoick had put him to work in the forge as a way to make sure he didn’t get too cold. It helped, especially during winter. What they didn’t know, though, was that he didn’t always need it.

Hiccup never told anyone about it. It didn’t even make real sense to _him_.

During raids, his chest wasn’t as cold as normal. Sometimes, it could even be considered warm. The warmth grew in the half-hour before a raid and lessened in the half-hour after.

The only possible explanation was that his soulmate was a dragon.

That was impossible, though. Dragons were mindless, soulless creatures hell-bent on destroying their village and killing every Viking out there. If he was soulmates with one… that meant there was a reason behind the attacks on their village. It meant that they were killing intelligent creatures. It meant there was a possibility that the Vikings were in the wrong, or at least partly to blame for the war.

He never told his dad this. Gobber didn’t know either. He suspected Gothi knew, but she wouldn’t tell anyone. He still worked to help the village beat the dragons. If he ever ran into his soulmate, if they really _were_ a dragon, he didn’t know what he’d do.

-

He was fourteen when he finally met his soulmate.

He had been working on his bola-launcher for weeks. It was almost perfect. The raid coming right when he finished was like fate.

Hiccup didn’t know when the next raid would be –when his next chance would be- so he left his house, against his father’s orders, and joined Gobber in the forge. The only problem was when the bola launched accidentally, but he could deal with that. The perfect opening came when Gobber joined the fight. It was as if the Gods were begging him to do this.

Several people noticed him run through the village, but few had the time to force him back inside. He had been planning this, deciding the perfect spot for the weapon. There was a small peak the jutted out near the top of the village. He’d have the best accuracy from there.

Once he was there, it was only a matter of time. The Night fury would be hard to catch, but on a clear night like this, Hiccup could see its shadow covering the stars.

It only took a minute to aim and fire. The feeling in Hiccup’s chest when he hit the creature was something he couldn’t describe. It almost overshadowed the cold. Maybe that was what happiness felt like.

The rest of the night was spent being chased around by a Monstrous Nightmare and being told off by his dad. He was lucky his house was at the top of the village and right next to the forest. No-one would see him sneak out again.

Strangely, the warmth didn’t leave his chest. In fact, it grew the farther into the forest he travelled.

That only made sense if… had some of the dragons stayed behind to help the Night Fury and he hadn’t seen? Was the Night Fury…?

The only way to find out was to look for himself. He followed the warmth. After some time, Hiccup felt like the warmth in his chest might burn him alive. He barely noticed the ditch in the ground and the scratches on the trees. He crawled over the rise and there it was.

Its wings were bent in a way that looked uncomfortable, and blood dripped from its tail. From the way the bola was caught in its limbs, the dragon wouldn’t be able to move.

It was the perfect opportunity to become the hero he always wanted to be. The hero his dad always wanted him to be.

His chest _burned_.

He walked forward on shaky legs, poking the dragon with one foot. The creature practically threw him off. When he got back to his feet, it was heaving and shaking. One of its eyes was open.

They caught each others’ gaze. Hiccup felt something burst inside him. This dragon was his soulmate, he couldn’t hurt them.

With that realisation, the burning in his chest faded to a pleasant warmth. The change in the dragon’s posture told him they felt it too.

With nothing else to do, Hiccup cut the ropes binding the dragon. They jumped toward him in warning, but didn’t touch him. Instead, they sat back on their haunches and stared.

What on Midguard should he do now?


End file.
